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To switch from being a plaything to an important player within the market, the Dutch pork sector must focus on the needs of the North-west European consumer. To this end, it is necessary for production to be made sustainable and for supply chain integration to be reinforced. The lack of a sustainable business model is the main bottleneck within the sector. The successful further development of new value models has the highest priority within the chain. The non mutually exclusive scenarios "sustainability dictates the market" and "reinforced supply chain integration" take preference.
The current product range does not meet the demands of the consumer market. The supply chain is lacking the market focus needed to be able to create added value. It is possible to generate high prices and margins if a pork chain manages to produce a product or product group with a high added value. Innovative initiatives come up against existing chain structures and legal frameworks. Chain parties and government bodies must offer innovative initiatives for larger groups of businesses scope for experimentation. Half of the experts questioned have a neutral attitude towards the question of whether the initiative should lie with abattoirs and retailers.
The number of pig farms will halve over the next ten years, the pig population will shrink and increases in scale will continue. Affordable solutions with regard to manure disposal must be implemented before 2015.
Piglet exports from the Netherlands will increase greatly over the next decade, from 6 million to between 11 and 16 million piglets. This requires a different approach to the control of animal diseases through compartmentalisation across national borders. Piglet exports need to focus on and prioritise the German market.
A reduction of the future manure costs by €0.04 per kg slaughter weight and an increase in returns from new market concepts by €0.04 per kg slaugh-ter weight should ensure that the businesses can generate a good income in the future while at the same time satisfying the stated social requirements.
Friday March 30, 2012/ Wageningen UR/ Netherlands.
http://www.lei.dlo.nl
